


Sharing A Room

by theDeadTree



Series: Scott Ryder [4]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 10:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theDeadTree/pseuds/theDeadTree
Summary: Late night conversations between Scott and Sara Ryder.





	Sharing A Room

**Author's Note:**

> More largely pointless Ryder sibling weirdness. Pre-Andromeda.

“Who do you think would win if Dad got into a fight with a turian?”

Seconds ticked past in silence as he lay there, waiting for her answer. Scott glanced over at Sara’s bed, but couldn’t tell through the gloomy dark whether she’d heard him, or if she was even awake.

“…Sara?” he called her name a little hesitantly, after what felt like far too long.

And then;

“Are we talking about a punch up here, or a firefight? Because those are two wildly different situations. But I don’t know. Probably Dad? Depends on the turian.”

“Okay, okay. What about a fistfight with a krogan?”

“Scott, is there a point to this?”

“No point. Just can’t sleep. Dad versus a krogan, Sara. Go.”

“Oh, the krogan. Krogan for sure. Dad wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m telling him you said that.”

 _“No,_ you are _not!”_

 

*   *   *

 

“Look, Scott, I know this is pointless because you don’t give a damn about my opinion,” Sara began suddenly, staring idly at the ceiling as she spoke.

Scott rolled over onto his back and let out a long, exhausted groan.

“But…?” he prompted tiredly.

 _“But,_ has it ever occurred to you that maybe this is, oh I don’t know, an incredibly bad idea?” she asked. “We all know how it’s going to end.”

“It’s different this time.”

 _“Is_ it?” she shot back at him darkly. “Tell me if this sounds familiar. You get together. You inevitably get into a huge fight. You break up. You fall into a useless, emotional wreck for a week. Then a certain someone breathes in your general direction, and you’re all over each other again.”

There was a pause as he failed to answer her, or think of a halfway decent rebuttal.

“You’ve done this dance before, Scott,” Sara continued after an agonising silence. “A million times over. It’s not healthy.”

“Hmm. You’re right.”

“Oh thank _god._ He’s finally seen the light.”

“I really _don’t_ give a damn about your opinion.”

Quickly, Sara gripped her pillow and threw it at him from across the room, with a surprising amount of force. “You _jerk.”_

 

*   *   *

 

“Hey Scott.”

“Mm?”

“Have you ever heard of this thing called _co-dependency?_ Seems like the kind of thing that should interest you.”

“I know what you’re insinuating, and I’m choosing to ignore it.”

“Just trying to look out for you, little bro.”

“Please stop.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Pistols, or shotguns?”

“Assault rifle.”

“That’s _not the question,_ Scott.”

“Doesn’t matter. Assault rifle.”

“Okay, fine. But just for the sake of the question, if you had to pick a pistol or a shotgun and _not_ an assault rifle…?”

“And I can’t pick an assault rifle?”

“No. You absolutely cannot pick an assault rifle.”

“Sniper rifle.”

_“Scott.”_

“…biotics?”

“God _dammit_ Scott.”

 

*   *   *

 

“So… I happened to spy you with a boy today…”

Sara’s reply was cold and immediate. “Scott Ryder, do not for two seconds pretend you haven’t already stalked him and come up with ten thousand reasons why I shouldn’t see him anymore.”

There was a pause as Scott considered her accusation, and how to answer it. And then, finally;

“Well, that saves time. Do you want the full list, or just the standouts?”

 _“Goodnight,_ Scott.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Think you’d ever kiss a salarian?”

“Depends on the salarian, doesn’t it?”

 

*   *   *

 

“Okay, I’m just going to say it – Scott, you need to cool it off with the biotics at meal times.”

“Oh sorry, _Mom._ Didn’t realise you were that sensitive.”

“You’re not funny, Scott.”

“I’m goddamn hilarious and you know it.”

 

*   *   *

 

“How’s Mars?”

A small smile pulled at Sara’s lips at the question – despite the fact that Scott wasn’t interested in the answer, and was just asking to make conversation.

“Oh, you know. Red. Dusty. Full of scientists. Actually, it’s pretty amazing, we were on a dig just the other day and-”

“Sara, you know I stopped listening after _red_ and _dusty.”_

Sara sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at her comm. “Ugh, fine. I won’t tell you. Dare I ask how you’re doing?”

“There’s nothing to know. Honestly, I don’t know why you called.”

“Because you’re my brother and it’s been weeks. So you’re going to tell me how you’re going, dammit.”

“Arcturus remains defended.”

“And the mass relay?”

“Still mass relaying.”

“Thanks to your valiant heroic efforts?”

“Obviously.”

 

*   *   *

 

“You… ah, did you hear about…?” she trailed off into silence, not sure how to word herself as her mouth ran dry and her brain scrambled for a way to make sense of things.

“About Mom?” Scott finished for her dully. “I did, in fact, hear about that.”

They descended into silence once more.

“Are you okay?” Sara tried, still not real sure how to approach the situation.

 _“I’m_ not the one who’s dying here, am I?”

“Look, I know you’re upset-”

“Can we _not_ talk about this?”

 

*   *   *

 

“It’s not your fault, you know.”

“What? What are we talking about?”

“Mom. It’s not your fault. Your biotics aren’t what made her sick.”

“Just the repeated exposure to eezo. Which as we all know, is completely unrelated.”

“You can stop being sarcastic any time, Scott.”

“Perish the thought.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Hey Scott, I heard about what happened. I know it sucks, believe me, but we’ll get through it. You’re not the only one going through this shit right now. Trust your big sister. Call me back.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Scott?”

 

*   *   *

 

“Scott, are you there?”

 

*   *   *

 

“Answer me, dammit.”

 

*   *   *

 

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“That makes a grand total of one of you.”

“Seriously, Scott. We thought you were dead. You freaked everyone out. Even Dad.”

“And I suppose the shouting and the lectures are just how he shows affection?”

“You know he-”

“If you’re about to say anything to the effect of; _he only yells because he cares,_ I may actually have to shoot you.”

“You’d miss.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence Sara, that’s really encouraging.”

“And Scott?”

“Yeah?”

“He only yells because he cares.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Mom’s getting worse.”

“She’s always getting worse, Sara. It’s terminal. That’s how terminal works.”

 

*   *   *

 

“Are you okay?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Scott-”

 _“No,_ Sara.”

 

*   *   *

 

“So. Andromeda.”

“Andromeda,” Scott repeated, though his tone was distinctly more bitter than hers. “I should’ve known Dad’s ultimate solution to all this shit would be _run away from all your problems._ To another goddamn galaxy.”

“You’re not excited? Think of what could be out there – stars we’ve never seen before. Maybe new sentient species! There are so many possibilities, so many things to discover.”

He sighed and rolled over. “I guess you’re right. Not like either of us have much of future here, anyway.”

 _“That’s_ the spirit.”

 

*   *   *

 

“My last night in the Milky Way,” Scott began dryly, “why am I still sober?”

“Because we’re about to go into cryo-stasis for centuries and you don’t want anything in your system when you wake up.”

“I don’t know, it could be a fun way to start the adventure.”

“Scott Ryder, I _swear to god…”_


End file.
